Food Friday: Italian Meatball Sliders by Clean Eating

Serves: 12 Hands-on time: 20 minutes Total time: 40 minutes

INSTRUCTIONS:

• Olive oil cooking spray
• 1 lb lean ground turkey
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 egg white
• 1/4 cup minced yellow onion
• 1/4 cup minced roasted red bell peppers (packed in water and drained)
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup natural jarred marinara sauce
• 1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 24 cocktail-size whole-grain pitas or buns, split, toasted lightly if desired

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with foil and mist with cooking spray.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine turkey, garlic, egg white, onion, bell peppers, Italian seasoning, salt and black pepper. Gently mix until combined. Using a spoon or small scooper, from into patties about 1 scant tbsp each, making about 24 sliders; place on sheet. (MAKE AHEAD: Prepare patties up to one day in advance, wrap tray in plastic wrap an refrigerate.)
3. Transfer to oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and flip patties over. Bake for 5 more minutes. Remove patties from oven; spoon marinara over each patty and sprinkle each with cheese, dividing evenly. Switch oven to broiler setting on high, return to oven and broil for 4 to 5 minutes, until cooked through and cheese is bubbling. Using a fork or tongs, transfer each patty into a pita or bun.

Nutrients per serving (2 meatball sliders): Calories: 213, Total Fat: 4 g, Sat. Fat: 1 g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2 g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0 g, Carbs: 29 g, Fiber: 3 g, Sugars: 4 g, Protein: 11 g, Sodium: 554 mg, Cholesterol: 21 mg

Recipe by: Cara Lyons
Picture by: Maya Visnyei

Just as an added note, I highly recommend you check out Tosca Reno’s Clean Eating Cookbooks and subscribe to hear Clean Eating magazine. Everything, and I mean literally everything, I have tried from these books have been delicious.

Link: http://www.cleaneatingmag.com/recipes/classics-made-clean/italian-meatball-sliders-2/

Yummy Cookie Recipe: Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Want a tasty treat that is quite guilt-free AND gluten-free? Try this amazing recipe for Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies from Tosca Reno’s The Best of Clean Eating Cookbook!

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted almond butter, stirred well
3/4 cup Sucanat
1 large egg
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
3 oz dark chocolate (70% cocoa or greater), broken into small pieces

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. In a medium bowl, stir together first 5 ingredients until blended. Stir in chocolate.
2. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes. Remove to a wire rack and let cool for 15 more minutes.

This recipe makes: 24 cookies
Hands on time: 10 minutes
Total time: 22 minutes

Nutrients per cookie: Calories: 110, Total fat: 8g, Sat. Fat: 1.5g, Carbs: 10g, Fiber: 1g, Sugars: 3g, Protein: 2g, Sodium: 55mg, Cholesterol: 10mg